We asked our friend Simon de Pury to give us a lay of the land and to offer a peek into what's on offer.

Over 40 donors supported the climate action led by Galleries Commit and Art to Acres, which will see nearly 200,000 acres preserved

As the rise of abstraction swept through the Western art world in the early 20th century, so, too, did a turn towards spirituality. Within the context of prevailing art movements, such as Realism and Impressionism, as well as materialistic philosophies and values, artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Kasimir Malevich, and František Kupka yearned for meaning beyond reality, and ushered in the rise of abstraction. These pioneers of abstract art sought inspiration from spiritualism and theosophy, a synthesis of world religions, sciences, philosophy, and color theory. And while these male artists are renowned as the pioneers of abstract art, their female counterparts have, until recently, gone overlooked and underrecognized in the art-historical canon. 

It’s not every day you find yourself standing between two paintings of trolls waving at one another, but that’s exactly what you would have found in Robin F. Williams’s recent show, “Out Lookers,” at P·P·O·W Gallery in New York. Challenging how women are often depicted as scapegoats or untrustworthy figures in popular culture, the artist’s larger-than-life ghosts, witches and supernatural beings bear important messages about social justice, sustainability and issues facing women throughout history. A climate activist and founding member of the environmentalist group Artists Commit, Williams speaks about sustainability in the art industry and the importance of embracing time off.

Art lovers tell us what they’ve bought and why

This past September, the state of Texas enacted the most restrictive abortion ban currently in effect in the United States. The law, Senate Bill 8, prohibits abortions as early as six weeks into the pregnancy—a time period in which most women are unware they are even pregnant. The state’s sweeping legislation also makes no exceptions for people who are victims of rape or incest. The bill is part of a national agenda to end access to abortion across the U.S., including the landmark case Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court could possibly overturn—triggering bans in 26 states to go into effect within months.

Plus, shows from Robin F. Williams, Chris Oh, and more.

These nuanced, feverishly intellectual shows will carry you into the enriching fall and winter months.

The large-scale arrival of new and veteran dealers has given the neighborhood its first unifying theme in 60 years. Here are three walks with our critics, a springboard to explore.

Robin F. Williams’ latest solo show Out Lookers at P·P·O·W teeters between dream and nightmare. It’s unnerving and off-putting with witches, ghosts and trolls whose eyes burn like balls of fire. At the same time, it’s exciting, inviting and challenges us to embrace discomfort. Even the accompanying catalogue by Carmen Maria Machado starts out with a degree of unease: “Come Here. Come Here. Do you believe in ghosts? It doesn’t matter. They believe in you.” Out Lookers plays upon this discomfort and invites the viewer to enter Williams’ supernatural world full of subtle references to urban legends, climate change and horror films. Reframing the way in which women are portrayed in popular culture as scapegoats or mistrusted characters, Williams’ figures are powerful, larger than life and waiting to stare right back at the viewer.

No matter how she evolves as a painter, you can recognize a Robin F Williams work right off the bat. It's a gift of talent. If you were to look at her works from a decade ago to now, they have morphed and transformed in so many different directions and yet there is a core that remains the same. There is a challenge of body, of selfhood, of something otherworldly in all of us. Her newest body of work, Out Lookers, is on view now at PPOW Gallery through November 13, 2021. 

And just like that, almost as if there was no global pandemic that crippled the world for the past year and a half, Art Basel returned to the Swiss city where it started over 50 years ago, bringing together 272 premier galleries from 33 countries and territories.

From Cynthia Daignault’s new body of work at Kasmin Gallery, New York, to Monika Baer’s first Swiss institutional show in 30 years at Kunsthalle Bern, these are must-see painting shows this season

“I want it to feel as though these women are getting the last laugh,” artist Robin Francesca Williams explains about the toothy grins in her atmospheric portraits. With much of her work, Williams aims to show how women have been mistrusted, scapegoated, and demonized, but also to expose the expectation of their moral superiority, that they must kindly demonstrate purity and unconditional love on behalf of mankind. 

We had the opportunity to sit down, albeit virtually, with Pete Scantland, the founder and CEO of the advertising company Orange Barrel Media, and Columbus-based contemporary art collector. Over the past four years, Scantland has amassed quite an impressive collection of some of the most sought after names in the art industry today.